


Haunted Paramount

by Anonymous_1701



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Post-Star Trek (2009), Star Trek: AOS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:27:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26699020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonymous_1701/pseuds/Anonymous_1701
Summary: Star Trek cast members Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto are bored during an event at the Paramount Pictures lot and take a walk.  The Hollywood Forever Cemetery is right next to the Studio.  What happens when new actors and old actors claim the same spot?
Relationships: Chris Pine & Zachary Quinto
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	Haunted Paramount

Zach was tired of schmoozing and smiling this particular Saturday night. The entire "Star Trek" had been invited to attend the publicity event at Paramount Pictures, but only he, Chris and Zoe had been able to attend. It was a beautiful October night in Los Angeles and the palm trees surrounding the fountain in front of the famous Bronson Gate were lit with fairy lights. There were dozens of elegantly appointed dinner tables and wait staff in full uniform weaving in and out of the crowd with champagne in crystal flutes. Soft music played in the background, above the buzz of the several hundred invited guests. Zoe had quickly been swished away by a whole fleet of photographers eager for photos, while he and Chris had managed to escape that fate so far, with the exception of a few publicity photos. They had hidden themselves among some producer types who wanted nothing more than to discuss their latest projects. Chris had no objections to this at all, as he usually disliked being in the limelight when he was not “working”. Zach usually ate up stuff like this, but tonight he was exhausted. He had flown in from New York late the night before and had not slept well. They had already been here for two hours. Consequently he was tired, cranky and trying not to show how utterly bored he was with all this. Sometimes networking was tiresome. In general he hated sucking up, though it was how movies got made.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chris trying to muffle a yawn. That did it. He needed to take a walk and wake up a bit or he was going to fall asleep at the table. He nudged Chris with his elbow.

Chris jerked up, his eyes wide like he was trying to appear alert and interested.

“Huh?” he mumbled. “What?”

“I can’t take this any longer. Wanna take a walk?”

“Oh hell, yes” Chris replied as he stood up, weaving on his feet a bit. He scrubbed his hand over his face and scratched at the stubble of his short beard.

Zach indicated the dark entryway of the Bronson Gate which led into the deeper recesses of the Studio proper. Judging by the speed with which Chris began weaving through the crowd, he was just as eager as Zach to escape. He had a hard time keeping up with him.

Finally, they were through the gate and striding deeper into the lot. Zach looked at his phone and discovered it was a little after 11pm. Damn, he was getting old. 11pm used to be when he would leave the house seeking adventure, not when he began looking at his phone for the time! Surely their little party would still be going for a while. They could take a walk around the lot and return before anyone was the wiser.

The dark Studio lot extended around them for a half mile in either direction. He wasn’t used to it being this deserted. Usually during the week, shows and movies were shooting on the lot late, into the wee hours of the morning even, and there were hundreds of people spread out throughout the lot – crew and cast, audiences, lots of security guards doing rounds. Now, on a Saturday night, it was a whole different place. The dark buildings loomed over them and street lights illuminated a few square yards of space, leaving the rest to the darkness and their imaginations. As they passed numerous sound stages, they could see the palm trees sticking up over the back wall separating the Studio from the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Hundreds of the actors and crew of the Golden Age of Hollywood were buried there. Some said they still wandered the Studio, seeking their moment on the silver screen.

Their footsteps echoed on the deserted street. He deliberately walked a little bit closer to Chris so that their hands touched sometimes as they walked. Not that he was getting spooked or anything. Not that they were coming up on Stage 16, where twenty years ago a crewmember had died in a horrible accident. He was rumored to still haunt the soundstage. Not when they were next to the wall that separated the living actors from the dead actors. Not that they were walking where the ghost of Rudolph Valentino had been seen walking through the walls a dozen times by frightened security guards. Nah, that didn’t bother him.

As they walked, Zach kept looking over his shoulder. They turned the corner at the Mill and began walking along the street paralleling the cemetery. The sound of plastic snapping somewhere in the light breeze made Zach jump and startle. He cursed silently at himself for being foolish.

“Zach, so jumpy! Are you afraid of ghosts?” Chris laughed, his blue eyes visible in the lamplight, though the rest of their bodies blended into the shades of gray of night. He radiated amusement.

“No, asshole, I’m not” he snapped back, resolving instantly to put on his big boy panties and deal with it. He would NOT let Chris see him be a superstitious coward.

“Okay then” Chris said, smiling to himself. Zach instantly wanted to wipe that little smirk right off his pretty little face.

They were just coming out onto New York Street. A dozen tall three story buildings stretched out before them, facades resembling various apartments and buildings that you might see in different parts of New York City. Dark, narrow stairways lined the interiors of each one, giving access to the upstairs windows and rooms. Each building had dozens of dark windows, some with curtains, some without. A light breeze blew leaves around in the gutters. Brownstones rose to the left, while something looking like a three story school towered behind them. To the right was a small section that looked like a block of store fronts. Walking to the store fronts, which seemed the least intimidating in the dark, he stepped up decisively to a doorway and wiggled the door handle. It opened. Chris looked at him suspiciously, but followed as they went inside.

It was very dark in the small room, very dusty and still. Only a little light shone in through the windows of the fake store front. Zach slid down the wall and sat on the cold floor against it. He did not particularly care what it did to his suit. That was what dry cleaners were for. After a moments’ hesitation, Chris did the same, their shoulders touching.

“God I hate publicity stuff like tonight” Zach said, rubbing his tired eyes in exhaustion. “I love the work but events like tonight try my patience. All those stuffy “suits” one-upping one another. I couldn’t breathe. Ugh.”

“Poor baby. Maybe you need to loosen up.” Chris bumped Zach with his shoulder teasingly.

“Oh, well that’s easy for you to say, California boy. I had meetings all day yesterday, flew half the night and slept terribly in my brother Joe’s guest bed, which is hard as a rock.”

“You are always welcome to stay with me, you know” Chris said, reaching up with his warm hand to massage the nape of Zach’s neck. Zach leaned into the massage, feeling the knots loosen. He wiggled his shoulders to put the tensest spots under Chris’ strong hands. Chris’ thumb began digging into a particularly sore spot, working it out, and Zach closed his eyes and sighed in contentment.

“Thanks, I know” he mumbled. He leaned into Chris a little bit, enjoying the closeness. It wasn’t often that he got Chris all to himself, living on opposite coasts now. And they still had to return to the tiresome dinner, at least long enough to make a graceful exit. Maybe they could catch watch a movie tonight and hang out some more before he had to return to New York in a few days. Chris’ hands kneaded the knots right out of his shoulders.

A window slammed shut somewhere above them. Zach jumped about a foot, his flight or fight instinct fully engaged. Chris froze, his hands on Zach’s arms. Zach could tell he wasn’t breathing either. Both men strained their ears for further sounds. Their eyes were wide in the dark room, where they could see bare outlines of walls and counters and nothing else.

In the darkness above the room they were in, the clear sound of footsteps slowly descending the tall wooden stairs broke the silence.

Without waiting for Chris, Zach leapt to his feet and crashed through the doorway. Chris was hot on his heels. The hair on his arms stood on end and his heart hammered in his chest. He slowed down momentarily, looking back at the building to see what he could see, and Chris crashed into him, wrapping himself around Zach like an octopus.

“Holy FUCK, what was that?” Chris said, his arms fully around Zach, forcing them further down the street at a rapid pace. Zach wasn’t sure how they were still upright. The dark windows loomed over them like unseeing eyes.

“I thought you weren’t afraid of ghosts?” Zach asked shakily, trying to untangle himself from Chris at least enough to stay on his feet and keep moving away from the facades. Chris kept a hand on Zach’s lower back and propelled him down the street toward the better lit and more populated parts of the Studio. While they weren’t quite running, it was close.

“Shut up and MOVE IT, Zachary!” Chris growled.

Coming into the lights on the Paseo, Zach grabbed Chris and held him back for a moment. He hastily smoothed back his hair and adjusted his jacket, and began inhaling deeply to get his breath back. Beside him, Chris did the same. Glancing behind him into the dark one more time, he pushed Chris ahead of him and they returned to the party.

Out of nowhere, Zoe appeared in front of them.

“Where on earth have you two been?” she demanded, her hands on her hips, eyes flashing.

Zach and Chris exchanged a glance.

“Running from things that go bump in the night?” Chris said sheepishly. Zach smiled his most charming smile, but knew he looked flushed, hair askew, out of breath and belatedly he realized he still had Chris by the arm. He let go and stuck his hands in his pockets.

Zoe’s eyes narrowed as she took in their disheveled appearances and the fact that they had been holding onto one another. She snorted in disbelief.

“Uh huh, a likely story, you two.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea if Pine & Quinto ever had a thing going. I do know that they look really nice together. Also, I adore Zoe Saldana. I've walked through New York street at 2am and it's super creepy. There are many stories of ghosts haunting Paramount Pictures. Enjoy!


End file.
